Apparatus for discriminating and/or identifying jewels

ABSTRACT

A novel method for testing materials such as jewels having optical properties such as transparency, reflection, and refraction, in commercial basis, and an apparatus for practicing the method are proposed. The apparatus comprises an enclosure forming a dark room in which the material such as a jewel is tested, means for holding and positioning the material at a selected position inside of the dark room, a beam of electromagnetic radiation such as light is directed onto the material preferably from the culet side of the material, and a photographic material, preferably placed on the crown side thereof, for recording an image of the electromagnetic radiation distribution of the beam passed through on the material.

United States Patent [1 1 Takubo 3,740,142 June 19, 1973 APPARATUS FORDISCRIMINATING AND/0R IDENTIFYING JEWELS Primary ExaminerR0na1d L.Wibert Assistant Examiner-Paul K. God/win [75] Inventor: YoshihikoTakubo,Tokyo,Japan Atmmey-LemeL David & Humbug T C A R T S B A 1 7 5 .I0 k ..l m n .0 Ym a J k 0 LR W 0 r h .7 U19 8 ml 6 0M qmme uam FTJ e nIn 1 0 w h A c 1 .1 3 2 7 2 r1 .1.

A novel method for testing materials such as jewels 211 Appl. No.:46,724

having optical properties such as transparency, reflec- 30 ForeignApplication priority Data tion, and refraction, in commercial basis, andan appa- Aug 24 1969 Japan 44/80406 ratus for practicing the method areproposed. The ap paratus comprises an enclosure forming a dark room inCl- I the material Such as a jewel IS tested, means for holding andpositioning the material at a selected posi- [5 l] Int. Cl. G0l n l 3inside Ofthe dark room a beam Ofelectromagnetic 581 Field of 356/30 7631 radiation Such as light is directed the material preferably from theculet side of the material, and a photographic material preferablyplaced on the crown [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1964Chan...........t....

side thereof, for recording an image of the electromagnetic radiationdistribution of the beam passed through on the material.

356/76 356/30 4/1956 Zeimnger.............................. 356/30 6Claims, 9 Drawing Figures FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 3,160,7481,700,497 1/1929 Heitzler 2,742,813

Patented June 19, 1973 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 F/GZ Patented June 19, 1973 4Sheets-Sheet z Patented June 19, 1973 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 11/! IIIIYIITIIP77 I/l/ Patented June 19, 1973 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 APPARATUS FORDISCRIMINATING AND/OR IDENTIFYING JEWELS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to a method and device for discriminating andidentifying materials having optical properties such as jewels.

Heretofore, the discrimination or identification of the materials havingoptical properties such as jewels has been carried out only by skilledcraftsmen who have long experience in the art. However, the methodrelying on the craftsmans experiences cannot exhibit any visible groundfor the judgement, and, for this reason, the decision cannot bepersuasive to all of the concerned personnel.

Of course, it has also been known that the materials having opticalproperties such as jewels can be discriminated or identified employingcrystallographical techniques. For instance, the material such as jewelsmay be tested employing X-rays, ultraviolet rays, or polarized light,and the reflected, refracted, or dispersed rays or visible light may berecorded on a photographic substance or film for the subsequentinspection. However, such a procedure is carried out rather fordetermining the kind of the materials or for determining thecrystallographical structure, and the method and devices required forpracticing such a procedure are too much complicated and costly forsimply discriminating or identifying the material in the commercialbasis.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the primary object of the presentinvention is to provide a novel method and device for testing materialshaving optical properties such as jewels for the purpose of mostlydiscrimination and identification of the materials in a commercialbasis.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel method anddevice for testing materials having optical properties without relyingon the craftmans skill or experiences.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novelmethod and device for testing materials having optical properties suchas transparency, reflection, and refraction without requiring anyelaborate procedure or devices.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novelmethod and device for testing materials such as jewels whereby a visiblerecord indicative of any slight degree of difference inherent in thematerial is obtained for preservation and subsequent comparison.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel methodand device for testing materials such as jewels wherein the material tobe tested can be instan taneously set to the position, and a record canbe obtained even if the material is mounted on a ring or the likeornament.

A yet further object of the present invention is to provide a novelapparatus for testing materials such as jewels, wherein all of therequired components are combined in one unit, whereby a visible recordof the material can be obtained instantaneously.

These and other objects of the present invention can be achieved by anovel method for testing materials such as jewel having opticalproperties such as transparency, reflection, and refraction, whichmethod comprises shining a beam of electromagnetic radiation,

preferably of light rays in a range of wavelength reflectable andrefractable by the material, onto the material such as a jewel; andrecording, on a photographic mate rial, an image of distribution of theelectromagnetic radiation beam passed through on the material.

Preferably, the photographic material such as a photographic film may beplaced on the crown side of the jewel having a plurality of facets, andthe electromagnetic radiation beam such as light rays may be shone onthe jewel from the culet side thereof.

Preferably, the photographic material is a Polaroid film which can beinstantaneously developed and printed, and the electromagnetic radiationbeam is obtained from a miniature lamp of a known characteristic.

In another aspect of the invention, the above described objects are alsoachieved by a novel device for testing materials such as jewels having aplurality of facets, the device comprising an enclosure forming a darkroom, means for holding and positioning the material inside of saidenclosure, a source of electromag netic radiation beam directed onto thematerial to be tested, and a photographic material for recording animage of the electromagnetic radiation distribution of the beam passedthrough the material.

Preferably, the above mentioned means for holding and positioning thematerial to be tested is made adjustable as to the position from theoutside of the enclosure.

Alternatively, the above mentioned means for holding and positioning thematerial is made into a fixed type, and a separate focusing meanscontrollable from the outside of the enclosure may be provided inside ofthe enclosure.

Preferably, a shutter system for rendering an ade quate exposure time onthe photographic material be provided inside of the enclosure, and ashutter button may be provided on the front panel of the enclosure.

Likewise as in the method according to the present invention, thephotographic material such as a photographic film is preferably placedon the crown side of the jewel having a plurality of facets, and theelectromagnetic radiation beam is preferably shone onto the jewel fromthe culet side thereof.

Preferably, the above described beam electromagnetic radiation sourcemay be made in the form of a miniaturized lamp attached on an end of thepositioning device for the material in a manner aligning with thematerial, so that the light beam from the miniature lamp is shone on thejewel.

The nature, principle, and utility of the invention will be betterunderstood from the following description with respect to preferredembodiments thereof, when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing, wherein like parts are designated by like reference numerals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram to be employed for explaining thefundamental principle of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a distribution of reflected or refractedlight beams obtained by a device schematically indicated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is another schematic diagram to be employed for explaining thefundamental principle of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is also a diagram showing another distribution of reflected orrefracted light beams obtained by a device schematically indicated inFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an apparatus which constitutes anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is also a perspective view showing the same apparatus illustratedin FIG. 5, which is partly frustrated so that the inside components canbe seen more clearly;

FIG. 7 is another perspective view showing a construction of a jewelpositioning head employed in the apparatus shown in FIGS. 5 and 6;

FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view showing an apparatus whichconstitutes another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view rather schematically showing anotherconstruction of the jewel holding and positioning device which also maybe employed in an apparatus according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to FIG. 1 showing anexample of a device for practicing the method according to the presentinvention for the purpose of explanation of the fundamental principle ofthe invention, there is indicated a cylindrical body 1 having a topcover 2 and a bottom plate 3 so that a dark room is thereby formed.Inside of the cylindrical body 1, a transparent plate 4 having a glassysurface to mount a jewel A is provided. A source of an electromagneticradiation, which is a visible light in this example, is formed into aunit 5 including a lamp 6, a condenser lens 7, and a small hole 8 forpassing a light beam.

The light source 5 is provided through the top cover 2 so that a lightbeam Fl is shone onto the jewel A fixed on a jewel mounting piece 9placed on the transparent plate 4. A photographic material such as afilm is provided on the inside surface of the cylindrical body 1, andthe light rays reflected or refracted from the jewel A are projected onthe film 10 as indicated by arrows F-2 through F-7. Thus, a plurality ofimages for the reflected or refracted light rays through the jewel A areformed on the film 10. If the film 10 is thereafter withdrawn anddeveloped, images such as illustrated in FIG. 2 are fixed on the film10, so that the film may be preserved for the subsequent comparison forthe identification or discrimination of the jewel.

In the above description, although the jewel A has been described asbeing shone from the crown side thereof, it is found rather preferablethat the jewel is shone from the culet side, and such an example isshown in FIG. 3.

In FIG. 3, all of the members such as the cylindrical dark room 1, atransparent plate 4 having a glassy surface, and a light source 5 havinga lamp 6, a condenser lens 7, and a small hole 8 are quite similar tothose indicated in FIG. 1. However, in this example of the device forpracticing the method according to the present invention, the jewel A isplaced directly on the transparent plate 4, with the crown directeddownward contacting with the transparent plate 4, so that the light beamF-l passing through the hole 8 of the light source unit 5 is shone onthe culet side of the jewel A. Furthermore, the photographic materialssuch as films are attached not only on the inside surface of thecylindrical body 1 but also on the inside surface of the bottom plate 3.

When the images fixed on the film 10 in FIG. 2 are compared with theimages fixed on the films 10 and 10a in FIG. 4, it is found that moredetailed features characterizing the specific jewel can be seen in thefilms 10 and 10a in FIG. 4 and more specifically in the film 10a.

As a result of the findings, in all of the hereinafter describedexamples of the jewel identifying or discriminating devices forpracticing the method according to the present invention in morepracticable form or manner, the light beam is preferably, but notlimited thereto, shone on the jewel from the culet side of the jewel.Furthermore, although in the above described principle or fundamentalconcept of the present invention, an electromagnetic radiation, in theform of visible light rays, has been employed for the simplicity of theexplanation, another form of electromagnetic radiation such as infraredrays or ultraviolet rays may also be employed for a specific field ofapplication, so far as the rays may be reflected or refracted by thefacets of the jewels. Such an application has been found exclusivelyuseful in discrimination or identification of the jewels having, forinstance, a fluorescent or phosphorescent nature, or when a jewel havinga spectrographic singularity is discriminated employing the reflected orrefracted light beam in a specific range of the wave length.

Furthermore, although the fundamental principle or concept of thepresent invention has been explained with respect to simplified examplesof the devices which are employed for practicing the concept, it wouldbe apparent that the invention is not limited to those devices, but itresides in the method of discriminating and identifying materials havingoptical properties such as jewels comprising the procedures of shining abeam of electromagnetic radiation onto the material, and recording on aphotographic material, an image of the electromagnetic radiation showingthe distribution of the electromagnetic radiation reflected or refractedfrom the material to be tested, and also in the constructions of thedevices for practicing the method, which will be described hereinbelowwith reference to FIGS. 5 through 9.

In a device shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, which constitutes a preferredembodiment of the present invention, there is provided an enclosure orcasing generally indicated by a reference numeral 10. On the front panel1 l of the casing 10, a position adjusting knob 13 for the material suchas ajewel, a voltage adjusting knob 14 for the light source, a powerswitch 15 for energizing the lighting system, an indicating light 16 forthe energization of the system, and a shutter push-button 17 forphotographing the image reflected or refracted from the material to betested are provided. On the rearward portion 12 from the above describedfront panel 11 of the casing 10, a recessed portion generally indicatedby a numeral 18 is provided. A viewer having a hood 20 and a focusingglass 21 as shown in FIG. 6 or a pack of photographic films (not shown)may be inserted in the recessed portion 18, and may be fixed in theposition by means of snapping projections 19. Otherwise, the rearwardportion 12 of the casing 10 may also be constructed in such a mannerthat it adapts to receive the viewer having a hood 20 and a focusingglass 21 and/or a package of the Polaroid films which may be fixed inthe position by means of a stopper 22 as shown in FIG. 6.

Inside of the enclosure or casing 10, there is provided a jewelpositioning device comprising, for instance, a positioning arm 30, ahead 31, and a screw-threaded shaft 32. The above-mentioned jewelposition adjusting knob 13 is attached on one end of the screw-threadedshaft 32, the other end of which is received rotatably in a recessed pad33 fixed to the bottom plate of the casing 10. The screw threaded on theshaft 32 engages the female screw threaded inside of a hole provided atone end of the jewel position adjusting arm 30, so that when the knob 13is rotated in either of the directions, the entirety of the jewelpositioning device is raised or lowered relative to the focusing glassor the surface of the photographing film.

At the other end of the jewel positioning arm 30, a jewel positioninghead 31 is detachably fixed, for instance, by means of machine screws(not shown). The jewel positioning head 31 may take various forms orconstruction in accordance with the requirements and ornaments bearingthe jewel. Accordingly, it should be understood that the positioninghead 31 shown in FIG. 6 is a typical one adapted for mounting a ring 2embedded by the jewel 1 and having a hole through which a light beam maypass through the ring to the culet side of the jewel l. A miniature lamp35 is included inside of the jewel positioning head 31 at a positionaligning the central axis of the jewel 1 embedded in the ring 2.

In FIG. 7, the construction of the jewel positioning head generallyindicated by the numeral 31 is indicated in more detail. In thisexample, the jewel positioning head 31 comprises, beside of the mainbody, a ring supporting member 36 having a ring stopper 36a, and amachine screw having a knob 37 for adjusting the position of the ringsupporting member 36 to suit to the size of the ring 2 bearing thejewel 1. The above mentioned miniature lamp 35 is included inside of achamber (not shown) formed at one end of the jewel positioning head 31,and is covered by a covering piece 34 having a central hole 34a anddetachably mounted on the positioning head 31. The central hole 34a ofthe covering piece 34 is so formed that it may be easily abutted inalignment with the aforementioned hole provided through the ring 2 justunder the position wherein the jewel 1 is embedded or supported.

An electric power system including a voltage adjusting means is includedin the device for lighting the above mentioned miniature lamp 35, andenergized or deenergized by means of the above described power switch15, with such a condition being indicated by the indicator light 16,both mounted on the front panel 11 of the casing 10. The voltageadjusting means may be constructed in the form of a transformer Tincluded inside of the casing as shown in FIG. 6, and the output voltageof the transformer may be adjusted by the voltage adjusting knob 14.

Furthermore, the device may also include a shutter system rendering anadequate period of exposure on the photographic material such as a film,although such shutter system is not indicated in the drawings because itconstitutes no part of the present invention, and the operation of theshutter system may be controlled by the shutter button 17 provided onthe front panel 1 1 of the casing 10. Of course, the shutter system maytake a form of an electric timer for supplying a pulse current to thelamp 35 if an adequate consideration is paid as to the intensity of thecurrent and the period for the duration of the current.

In FIG. 8, there is indicated a cross-sectional view of a device fordiscriminating and identifying materials having optical properties suchas jewels, which constitutes another embodiment of the presentinvention. Although merely a part of the device required for theexplanation of the difference of this embodiment to the above mentionedembodiment is indicated in the draw ing, it should be noted that othermembers not indicated in the drawing are all similar to those describedin the embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6.

In this embodiment of the invention, the focusing of the image of thejewel on the focusing glass 21 or on the surface of the photographicfilm (not shown) is achieved by a focusing lens system includingfocusing lenses 40, and a lens supporting arm 41 which is engaging withthe screw threaded shaft 32 controlled by a knob 13, acting at this timeas a focusing knob. Be cause of the provision of a member not shown inthe drawing, the lateral movement of the focusing arm 41 is prevented,and the focusing lenses 40, 40 can be moved only in the upward ordownward direction, so that a sharp image of the jewel can be obtainedon the focusing plane despite of the jewel 1 supported by a ring 2 isfixedly mounted on a jewel mounting unit.

More specifically, the jewel mounting unit has a jewel mounting mainbody 50 the lower end of which is detachably fixed to a mounting socket51. The upper end of the main body 50 is preferably bent at right-angle,as indicated in FIG. 8, and a lamp accommodating chamber having a cover53 is provided at an end portion thus bent perpendicularly. The cover 53is detachably mounted over the lamp 35 mounted on a socket provided atthe bottom of the chamber, and a chamfered or a stepped hole 53a is cutthrough the cover 53.

I A rubber ring 54 having a central hole of a substantially equivalentdiameter to the narrower diameter of the stepped hole 53a is insertedinto the larger diameter portion of the stepped hole 53a, so that aresilient touch against the inside surface of the ring 2 may beobtained. On an intermediate portion of the jewel mounting main body 50,a ring supporting pad 52 is slidably supported, so that the position ofthe pad 52 may be adjusted for a desired size of the ring 2 bymanipulating a projected end portion 52a of the ring supporting pad 52.In this case also, the lamp 35 and the hole through the cover 53 and therubber ring 54 are aligned with a hole through the ring 2 just under thejewel 1, so that a light beam may be projected to the culet side of thejewel 1.

I Still another embodiment of the jewel positioning device which isemployable in the device for identifying or discriminating the jewl isindicated in FIG. 9 rather schematically and as a sectional view takenalong the axis of the assembly. This jewel positioning device isintended for positioning the jewel l which is not mounted on a ring.

Since, in this case, the jewel must be clamped firmly and heldaccurately in its position, a jewel clamping unit generally designatedby a numeral is employed. The jewel clamping unit 60 comprises arequired number of claws 61 for holding the jewel 1, a cylindricalmember 62 joined to the lower ends of the claws 61 and a mounting screwthread is cut on the lower surface thereof, a sleeve 63 slipped over thecylindrical member 62 and having stepped inside holes of larger and asmaller diameter, and a coiled spring 64 slipped over the cylindricalmember 62 so that the upper end of the coiled spring 64 abuts thestepped annular surface inside of the sleeve 63.

The screw threaded portion near the lower end of the cylindrical member62 is driven into a mating hole provided in a mounting member 65 of thejewel clamping unit which is detachably coupled to a hoisting anddescending member 66. The hoisting and descending member 66 may have anycross-sectional configuration, but preferably rectangular, and a collar66a for limiting the upward movement thereof is provided on the surfaceat an intermediate position along the length. On one side surface of themember 66 below the collar 66a, a rack 66b and a pinion 67 are provided.The hoisting and descending member 66 is passed through a mating openingprovided through a fixed member 70. A miniature lamp 35 is accommodatedin the cylindrical member 62 and an electrical power system is connectedto the lamp 35.

As is apparent from the above described construction, the jewel 1 mayfirstly be inserted between the claws 61, 61 of the jewel clamping unit60 when the sleeve 63 is pushed down against the resilience of thecoiled spring 64 and the claws 61, 61 are separated outwardly by theirown resilience. By releasing the sleeve 63 thereafter, the jewel 1 isfirmly clamped by the claws 61, 61 which are compressed by means of thesleeve 63 pushed upwards under the resilience of the coiled spring 64.

After the jewel 1 is firmly clamped as described above, the hoisting anddescending member 66 is hoisted or descended under the action of thepinion 67 and the rack 66b, the pinion 67 being rotated through any ofthe conventional means from the jewel positioning knob (not shown), sothat a sharp image of the reflected or refracted light spots may beobtained on the focusing plane 21.

Although the present invention has been described in connection withpreferred embodiments of the invention, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that various modifications and alterations be carriedout without departing the spirit and scope of the present invention.

For instance, the arrangement of the jewel positioning or focusing knob,the voltage adjusting knob, or the like provided on the front panel ofthe device may be utterly changed from those indicated and described inthis invention, or even the front panel itself may be eliminated, andthe required controlling knobs or the like may be arranged on a sidepanel or any other suitable positions.

Furthermore, although the jewel positioning unit has been described asmerely adjustable of the vertical position of the jewel, it may also bemodified so that the jewel may be turned around of the axis at a desiredangle.

In consideration of the above described facts, the true spirit and thescope of the present invention are defined as follows.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for discriminating and identifying materials havingoptical properties, which comprises:

a light-proof enclosure having side walls and a bottom portion andhaving located therein, holding means for holding and positioning thematerial, said holding means including a transparent plate supported bythe side walls of the lightproof enclosure:

a light source, a beam of which is directed onto the material to betested;

holding means for holding a photographic material along the side wallsof the light-proof enclosure;

and a photographic material for recording an image of the spectral lightdistribution of the beam passed through the material, held in placealong the walls of the light-proof enclosure by said holding means anddisposed along the bottom of the light-proof enclosure.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the photographic materialis placed near the holding means for holding and positioning thematerial.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said holding means forholding and positioning the material to be tested is adjustablypositioned within said enclosure to permit adjustment in distancebetween said material and the photographic material for recording.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3 and further including control meanspositioned outside said enclosure and connected to said holding meansfor adjusting said holding means from outside said enclosure.

5. An apparatus according to claim 3 wherein a shining time of the lightsource can be adjusted from the outside of the enclosure, said shiningtime being instantaneously a time of exposure to record a specificcharacter of the spectral light passed through the jewel on aphotographic material.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the intensity of the lightsource can be varied from outside of the enclosure.

1. An apparatus for discriminating and identifying materials havingoptical properties, which comprises: a light-proof enclosure having sidewalls and a bottom portion and having located therein, holding means forholding and positioning the material, said holding means including atransparent plate supported by the side walls of the lightproofenclosure: a light source, a beam of which is directed onto the materialto be tested; holding means for holding a photographic material alongthe side walls of the light-proof enclosure; and a photographic materialfor recording an image of the spectral light distribution of the beampassed through the material, held in place along the walls of thelight-proof enclosure by said holding means and disposed along thebottom of the light-proof enclosure.
 2. An apparatus according to claim1 wherein the photographic material is placed near the holding means forholding and positioning the material.
 3. An apparatus according to claim1 wherein said holding means for holding and positioning the material tobe tested is adjustably positioned within said enclosure to permitadjustment in distance between said material and the photographicmaterial for recording.
 4. An apparatus according to claim 3 and furtherincluding control means positioned outside said enclosure and connectedto said holding means for adjusting said holding means from outside saidenclosure.
 5. An apparatus according to claim 3 wherein a shining timeof the light source can be adjusted from the outside of the enclosure,said shining time being instantaneously a time of exposure to record aspecific character of the spectral light passed through the jewel on aphotographic material.
 6. An apparatus according to claim 5 wherein theintensity of the light source can be varied from outside of theenclosure.